Huh?
The scene left everyone dumbstruck.
Orochimaru: "I told you—someone as sword-crazy as Yūgao Uzuki would never hold out."
Orochimaru: "And after spending years with Naruto, that seed of longing was already planted."
Orochimaru: "The fruit's almost ripe; of course she's on edge."
Yūgao Uzuki: "..."
Stop talking.
It's embarrassing.
Anko, as always, was teasing her.
Kurenai Yuhi, though, suddenly turned serious.
She knew exactly how high Yūgao's standards were.
If it weren't for the handful of sword-users left in Konoha—there used to be more, but after the White Fang incident their numbers shrank...
...some persistent classmates finally wore Yūgao down.
Thinking of that, Kurenai gave a bitter smile.
Am I really any different?
Among the three, only Anko was better off.
Well—Anko's unique status and personality kept her from sharing their dilemma.
[Not long after]
[the three women headed upstairs together.]
[But Yūgao kept a wary eye on her two best friends.]
[She'd guarded that fruit for ages; if someone plucked it early she'd explode.]
[Kurenai could only shake her head with a wry smile—this girl's in deep.]
[Yet, thinking again, Naruto did possess a certain 'magic' other boys lacked.]
[As for Anko?]
[She only wanted to satisfy her cravings.]
[Arms full of dango and several large bottles of sake, she rapped eagerly on the door.]
[Tonight's bill is on Sister Red!]
[Naruto opened the door.]
[He'd seen it coming.]
[While the girls chatted, a Shadow Clone had already scouted ahead.]
["Welcome~"]
[Naruto's lips curved in a smile.]
[Anko blinked.]
['If no one told me, I'd swear I was seeing Teacher Minato.']
['And I keep spotting Sister Kushina's shadow too.']
[Suddenly Anko's nose twitched.]
['Smells amazing~!']
[Saliva flooded her mouth.]
[Can't be helped.]
[Anko's flat broke.]
[Her money only stretches to dango.]
[Still classified as special personnel, she can't leave the Village—most likely ever.]
[She can't even return to the tiny Mitarashi estate.]
[After Orochimaru's defection the clan disowned her; she's an orphan.]
[Forbidden from taking missions outside the walls,]
[advancing to Jonin requires mountains of red tape.]
[Even if she made Jonin it would be the same:]
[she'd be stuck with D-ranks inside the Village.]
[Occasionally an in-Village C-rank pops up,]
[but they're rare.]
[A Special Jonin rivaling regular Jonin, forced to fight Genin for D-ranks—pathetic.]
[Worse, most of that Jonin-level power bears Orochimaru's taint.]
[Every month, after buying dango, every last coin goes to raising the snakes of Ryūchi Cave.]
[That expense is no joke.]
[No wonder she can only eye the cheapest dango and red-bean sweets.]
[It's not that she dislikes cake.]
Watching this,
Anko's eyes turned red.
Damn it!
Curse you, Orochimaru!
But, seeing herself on the black-framed large screen,
she hugged Naruto, laughed, and stepped inside—tables laden with delicacies.
In an instant,
Anko had a plan.
'Girl in the black frame, don't let me down!'
'Get tight with Naruto!'
'My heavens, look at all that food—must cozy up and freeload every day!'
And the Anko inside the black frame didn't disappoint.
['Good grief!!!']
[Anko's eyes went wide.]
[These brats were richer than she could ever dream.]
[Premium meats, rare medicinal herbs—]
[quality and quantity she'd only heard rumors of.]
[Let alone tasted.]
[Her face flushed scarlet.]
[Rolling in riches!]
[This single feast could fund a year of dango!]
[No way!!!]
[Bzzt—]
[Anko whipped her head toward her best friend Yūgao.]
[Yūgao froze.]
[For a second she saw longing in Anko's eyes, then a flash of struggle,]
[followed by pure challenge.]
[Has she lost it?]
[That was Yūgao's first thought.]
[But she quickly realized—]
[Crap!]
[She really has her eye on my Naruto!]
[Damn it!]
"Oh-ho~"
"My Naruto~"
"Since when is he yours?!"
Anko curled her lip.
Yūgao's face burned; she was furious!
"True—there's Ino, Hinata, Sakura... and Uzumi, not to mention that little fan-girl Moegi spying on Konohamaru."
Yūgao Uzuki: "..."
Even you, Red... Meanwhile,
deep inside the Moon,
within the initial sphere space,
a stunning woman with snow-white hair, pale skin, and two horns atop her head.
She glanced at the black-framed large screen.
"My Chakra... has already grown this potent?"
"You will let me see daylight again, won't you?"
"Kneel and offer me your Chakra, and I shall leave you a pure land on this planet—this garden."
The Rabbit Goddess had been awake for some time,
silent,
listening to the chatroom.
She had pieced much together.
After her two unfilial sons sealed her inside the Moon, the garden had not been destroyed,
and no main-family Ōtsutsuki had arrived.
That eased her tension.
Now awake,
she saw the situation on Earth; her Black Zetsu was still at work, though delayed.
Watching Naruto on the black-framed screen,
and thinking of this world's Naruto,
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya gave a slight nod.
Everything remained, the goal clear.
With a vessel on the surface she could recover her power at top speed,
then shatter the lunar seal and let her true body return to the 'garden'.
This time she would not bother with sustainability.
The main Ōtsutsuki clan must be near.
A thousand years—
they should have found her by now.
"Serve me well, and I may even bestow upon you the Chakra of Hamura and Hagoromo."
Indeed, whether the Six Paths Sage—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—or Ōtsutsuki Hamura,
both were created by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
She knew White Zetsu,
for they were fashioned from Ten-Tails Chakra.
After devouring the God-Tree's Chakra,
the God-Tree became the Ten-Tails, and the Ten-Tails was Kaguya.
Thus the true progenitor of Chakra was the Rabbit Goddess—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura were essentially advanced White Zetsu.
Much like the spiral-masked White Zetsu Tobi, or the prime White Zetsu with his splitting power.
Black Zetsu was another matter: a will-born offshoot of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.